Chariots of Fire

that's a good looking combination. The semi-gloss black against the gloss black sets it off great. Nice Work!

Got the radio antenna done and mounted. License plates for Montana are added. Seat belts inside and a little dust and weathering from going off road to catch some bad guys. Just about done and ready to go!

One red light on a pole and a radio in the cab is all I'm told was on the truck. I have a whip antenna to add yet. Maybe a short piece of wire from the bottom of the light to inside the pole.☺️

Got rear view mirrors on today along with the side windows. We are almost done with this project. Two or three details still to go and then we can call it good.

We're almost done. The interior is nearly complete and the top has been changed a bit to represent a dirty white top. Headlights and such are in place. Just a bit more tweeking here and there and it is a finish!

Trevor that is exactly what the backside of some of my panels look like as well but it does the trick on the front side!?

That is a great instructional. Thanks! It gives me something to work toward! I too have used aluminum tubing for gage bezels but I have not gone to the extend you have. When circumstances have allowed, I have drilled out holes the size of the bezel in the dash or gage panel. The back side is not important but the front is. So I carefully clean and polish the aluminum the same as you have. Then the bezels are inserted into the holes after painting is complete. The only down side is I have to make a backing that fits inside the bezels to put the gage faces against. Here is one example.

That's the way they were done and I did not have any to use from the kit. The kit grill for the Gladiator is altogether different and the headlights are square.

It may become clearer after the build is complete!☺️ If not, I'll let you in on it.

Worked some on the front of the cab today. Waiting for the big snow storm tomorrow. Made a mold for the headlight surrounds and got the front bumper done with tow eyes. Then the grill was done using brass wire.

Yeah, I like the plow too!

No brush unit, this. No visible fasteners either. A very basic build but for a specific purpose.

The top work is nearly done. It's not connected yet, Just sitting in the rear pockets. It has to be secured at the windshield. Two ply facial tissue and some white glue/water mix and it is done. Just have to get it painted now.

Thank you Mike. I appreciate the kind words.

The color is picked. This one in the end will be in service as a surplus piece doing duty in another capacity. No, it's not going to be a fire truck.?

Getting ready to make up the top. The framework is done except for some cleanup of the joints. The engine is also done. Things are coming right along now. The gnomes have been busy but will take a well-deserved day off for now! That first photo is lousy, I know! Have to brush up on holding the camera steady!

This one will be somewhere in between, Bob. It's a special build with certain specifications that will become apparent eventually.

Here's an updated photo with all wheels finished. The underside of the body was given an initial coat of dark green OD paint.

Adjustments have been made in the wheels. I used some Tamiya "German gray" for the tire color. Tires are not jet black, especially the sidewalls. The part that is in contact with the pavement is darker because it is constantly being worn away just a little but not the sidewalls. The wheels were modified to a 6 lug design rather than the original 5 lugs that were on the Power Wagon that I originally took the wheels from. The 5 lugs were cut off and the surface sanded smooth. Then I traced around a hexagon pattern that is on a circle template. A hole was drilled at each angle point and a piece of brass wire was glued in. Then #15 fusion beads were dropped over the wire and superglued. Then the wire was cut close to resemble the studs. The front wheels are done. The back ones needed to be done at the time of the photo.

Yes, they were constructed with soft tops, Windshields that would fold down and had steel tubing ribs that held the top in place.

I think the body is done on this build. The tie down hooks are in place, the fuel tank was filled in and the filler tube was added. On to the front end to get some steering for the front wheels.

That last shot is a good one! The pieces look like they belong together!

Trumpeter makes a brass tubing set called Master Tools. There are 8 pieces in the set ranging from 1.1mm Dia. to 1.4mm Dia. Got them at the local hobby shop. I was told they were telescopic but they are not. But they are good size for spark plugs. Each piece is almost 8 inches long. Item Number is 09944.

Looks pretty good to me, Greg. I use small brass tubing (0.018) dia. for plugs. Holes are drilled in the head. If desired, you can over drill just the surface of the holes to show a depression in the head. Insert the pieces of tubing and then carefully grind away the tubing so that they are all the same height. Insert small craft wire in the tubing for the plug wires. This is quite small stuff but the look is pretty good. In the photo below you can see the "plugs" and some pieces of craft wire that will be inserted into the brass tubing. I crimp the wire over first so that it is bent toward the distributor where the wire is cut and inserted into the top. This is a Dodge T-214 engine, BTW that I used in the Weapons Carrier projects.